Grade B Disaster
by archergwen
Summary: Korra has a lot going for her, as the Avatar and goodwill ambassador with a kickin' apartment. It makes sense that something in her life has to go wrong. But does it have to be that the Most Beautiful Man in the World keeps seeing her when Korra is a Grade A Disaster?


Korra is fuckin' pissed at the Universe.

Oh, she knows she's got it good. After all, she's the Avatar, master of all four elements (one day), and she makes enough as a goodwill ambassador and general do-gooder to have this kickin' apartment in Republic City itself, where even the Avatar can throw on a pair of sweatpants and get lost in the sea of faces.

So guess it makes sense that something in her life has to go wrong.

But does it have to be that the Most Beautiful Man in the World keeps seeing her when Korra is a Grade A Disaster?

The very first time she saw him, it was after a particularly annoying bit of negotiations with the Earth Kingdom. She'd changed taxis three times, as usual, then went home to get into her favorite sweatpants and sweatshirt before walking to her favorite corner store.

Ten minutes later, and Korra has a six-pack of coke over one arm, her arms stuffed full of chips and popcorn, and a giant candy bar stuffed in her mouth.

"Having a party there, love?" Her doorman was smiling as he held the door open for her.

"Nah," Korra replied around her mouth full of candy bar while she shimmied through the door without spilling anything. Maybe the words were a little garbled, but she managed, "You know me, Imnek. This is literally all for me."

At which point she turned to face the lobby to see him.

Dangling from one hand were his keys as he smiled faintly at her get-up. Quite frankly, he looked simultaneously like a slimy asshole about to go drink his way through the city's tequila supply, but also like The Most Beautiful Man In The World.

She was proud of herself, for while he passed by she managed a polite nod even while internally screaming - _fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck_.

Korra saw him several more times over the coming months, and she always was a disaster.

Oh, she is perfectly capable of looking like a functional human, otherwise Tenzin would never let her go to important functions alone. It's just The Most Beautiful Man never sees her in those moments.

Maybe he watches the news and does? Who knows? NOT KORRA.

So Korra will be walking down the street to their building, after a light workout where she actually looked like a pretty "fit-girl," right up until she bought some street vendor food and vigorously enjoyed it.

Right when she had her fingers in her mouth, sauce dropped all down her front, The Most Beautiful Man walks by, waving cheerily, looking perfect as ever with his hair coiled and beautiful like one of those natural whirlpools in a stream. Korra doesn't have time to pull her hand out of her mouth before he's gone around the corner, leaving her cursing silently again.

Korra then has a whole week of not looking like a disaster.

This is, of course, the week she doesn't see The Most Beautiful Man. She hopes to see him, but that would be too easy. No, instead she just tries to think up ways to describe him.

One night, on her floor in old pj's eating ice cream from the carton and drinking wine from the bottle, she calls Asami to tell her about the man who looks like snow glittering on evergreen trees.

(Asami, who as an heiress and not an ambassador can attend all the late-night social events she wants, steps out of a party celebrating a rising probending team to take the call. She thinks of a player who certainly looks and acts like a skeeze - until you try and push him past possessive cuddling; he even refused body shots! Asami is still a little bitter - and resolves to get Korra out of "goodwill" mode, out from under Tenzin's watchful eye, and into sports at the earliest opportunity.)

The next morning, hungover but with the day off, Korra decides to get her mail, and take the elevator to do so. She successfully makes it down and is fishing the last scrap of ads when her letters slipped from her hands.

"No," she moaned. "Why would you do this to me? Do you like being on the floor? No. That's awful. Get back here."

As she crouched to grab everything, she caught from the corner of her eye The Most Beautiful Man walking past with a smirk. And to make matters worse, he was waiting for the elevator to come back down.

Korra resigned herself to her fate as with mail in hand she shuffled for the elevator as well. Maybe she can get to introduce herself, now, but she just feels so awful she wants to crawl into a hole and die. Preferably twice if that will let her forget all of this embarrassment.

She leans up against the wall just as the elevator dings and the doors open. Her stop and then lurch forward for the open door throws her balance way off.

Arms pinwheeling, Korra falls into the elevator on all fours, dropping her mail at The Most Beautiful Man's feet, because he is functional human even with what are clearly hangover sunglasses on and can walk into an elevator.

Then, as Korra stands up, she slips on her same mail and starts to fall back out of the elevator.

"Fu-"

Her expletive is halted as his hand snaps out and catches hers as he throws his weight back, so he not only stops her fall but reverses it enough she can stumble to her feet.

The two right themselves, and throw a sheepish glance at the other. He stoops as she tucks herself into the elevator so the doors can close.

"Your mail," he offers.

"Thanks."

Her fingers brush his as she accepts her letters, and he turns bright right as a blush practically explodes across his cheeks.

Korra smiles, before turning a bit pink as well and turning away coyly.

They shuffle in silence, until Korra, ever the butter fingers, almost drops her mail again but she manages to grab everything before it escapes her grip.

"Good catch."

"Thanks," she replies again, before getting the courage to add, "can I catch your name as well?"

The corners of his mouth twitch, and Korra's about to kick herself when he smiles fully and responds, "Tahno. You might know me as the Captain of the Wolfbats. We actually have a shot at the probending championship this year."

"Oh spirits, I keep meaning to catch some games but I'm always so busy with stuff."

He rubs the back of his neck, and Korra, suddenly afraid of the silence blurts out, "so you're a functioning adult," and then immediately wants the ground to swallow her up and take her far away.

Tahno laughs. "You should see me in the mornings, right after I get out of bed and haven't bent my hair."

"Okay."

He turns bright red again. "Well I didn't mean- I mean I did mean- but well I should- I probably- Anyway you're the- how could I- Do you want to go for noodles with me?" He pulls confidence from somewhere that he finishes his proposition with a flourish.

"Can I answer your question with another question?"

"Sure?"

"Do you want to kiss me?"

That's how Korra ended up, slightly hungover, making out with The Most Beautiful Man in the World, who was also slightly hungover and named Tahno - who'd known she was the Avatar the whole time but somehow was also attracted to her as a Part-Time Human Disaster - in the elevator of their apartment building shortly before getting yelled at by another resident and then breaking for their morning routine before running together to the nearest noodle joint.


End file.
